Rebecca Agnew
Infinite West, 2022
High definition video, 17min 2sec, composition by Daniem Sutton, edition 5 + 1AP
A twilight into Spaghetti Western comedy, Rebecca Agnew presents her long-awaited stop motion animation, Infinite West. Invisible hands occupy the Death Valley desert, bearers of the devotional and ceremonial raising of the Infinite West.
The world asunder, thematic narratives loosely follow Hatshepsut’s rise to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC, and the enchantment with warlike women of nomadic cultures through the evolution of activewear fashion and the divisiveness of sexual wellness in contemporary culture and social media.
A homily to the coming of age story, the vast scenes in fields laden with spaghetti diverge into a complex and world of unconscious imagination; formulating questions of imperialism, identity, race and sexuality in the ultimate release of moral responsibilities.
Artist Biography
Rebecca Agnew is a New Zealand born Director, visual artist and Stop Animator based in Melbourne. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne with an MFA in 2012 and the University of Otago, Dunedin with a BaFA in 2004. In 2019 she was part of the Gertrude Contemporary Studio Program.
Recent residencies include Desa, Indonesia, Varda Artist Residency, San Francisco, California and Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, US. Agnew has represented exhibitions with Jacob Hoerner Galleries, traveling to Sydney Contemporary 22: International Art Fair, Carriageworks, NSW with her latest stop motion animation ‘Infinite West’, and Australia & Nationalism in the Wake of COVID, Macquarie University Art Gallery, NSW. She had animations in The Magic Arts: Australian Animation from the 1970s to Now, Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema Program, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art. In 2022 Agnew’s paintings were recent finalists in The Parkin Prize, NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington, NZ and KAAF Art Prize Exhibition, Korean Cultural Centre, NSW, AU and she was the recent recipient of Quick response arts grants, City of Melbourne and finalist in the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award 2023.
Represented by Jacob Hoerner Galleries (Naarm/Melbourne), Booth L2.
